


The One Where They Hold Hands

by thestanceyg



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 08:39:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14829012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: Darcy Lewis and Spencer Reid have been friends since they were little. A surprise meeting one night makes Darcy rethink her feelings.





	The One Where They Hold Hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dresupi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dresupi/gifts).



Ever since she was a small girl, Darcy Lewis had participated in February Follies, the local theater’s winter variety show. First she took part with her beginner dance class, and as she got older, she began to choreograph her own solo pieces. The show was by audition, and as such there were rarely other performers her age. Even her small beginner dance group only made it in because the teacher was dating the director. Darcy was a talented dancer, and by third grade she was doing solo work and didn’t have the rest of her group to perform with. 

When she was 10, she met Spencer who was a magician, and they would spend hours of rehearsal sitting side by side doing homework, practicing their routines, or just chatting while they waited for their turn to run through their act on stage. They never attended the same schools, never knew a single person in common, but in many ways, Spencer Reid was the best friend she ever had. Dancing meant she spent lots of hours at studios and had very little time for normal things like sleepovers, not that she minded. But somehow Spencer seemed to understand that. They would occasionally get together during other times of year, and for a few years they were even pen pals. She still had every letter he had ever written her.

When she had left for college, he was already working on his first PhD, and they would email and call each other. While they might have formed a friendship out of shared childhood experiences, they had maintained it because they got along exceptionally well. When she stressed about her first major test, he had spent an hour on the phone with her, both quizzing her and reassuring her. When he turned in his first draft of his thesis, she scraped together a celebration box to mail to him.

To say it was a surprise when she saw him at a random house party her sophomore year, would be an understatement. Last she had known, he was supposed to be at home, visiting his mom. But instead, he was standing in a corner, looking ill at ease and avoiding looking at people.

“Spencer?” she said, but the music must have drowned her out because he didn’t look her way. He was looking down, like he was staring at a spot on the ground, so she crouched down and tilted her head into his line of sight.

“Darcy!” he said excitedly. “I was just trying to figure out how to get in touch with you!” He hugged her. “I can’t believe I ended up on campus and left my phone back in my hotel room.”

“What are you doing here?” she yelled over the music. “I thought you were supposed to be visiting your mom.”

“She had to cancel because she wanted to go on a trip the clinic was having,” he said with a shrug. “So I came with one of my advisers to present some of my research at the symposium this week.”

“You’re here for a week?!” she squealed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

She couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face. “Well you did! Does this mean you’ll have some time to actually hang out while you’re here?”

“I think so,” he said. “I am free the rest of tonight,” he added, though he phrased it like a question.

“This party is terrible, let’s go do something fun then!”

“Let me just go tell my friend I’m leaving,” he said. She followed him through the party, eventually grabbing his hand so they wouldn’t get separated, until he found who he was looking for.

“Hey!” he yelled over the music, “I found my friend. We’re gonna take off. See you later.”

“ _ That’s _ your friend?” the guy asked. “You didn’t say she was hot.”

“Oh, umm,” Spencer said. “I guess I didn’t think it was relevant?”

“Not relevant?! Man, give her my number then because I can notice her hotness all night.”

“I am standing right here,” Darcy said, annoyed. “And I can hear every word you are saying, so color me unimpressed and uninterested.”

“Look at me,” he said. Darcy noticed a slight sway as he waved his hand over his body, “I’m obviously better looking.”

“What you are is drunk and wrong,” Darcy said, tightening her grip on Spencer’s hand. “And Spencer will see you later.”

She turned and pulled Spencer away, back through the noise of the party, and out the door.

“I’m sorry I was a jerk to your friend,” Darcy said once they were outside. “But I’m not sorry I told him the truth.”

“I’m sorry about him. I didn’t realize he was drunk already. He’s one of the others presenting, and he sort of just railroaded me into coming with him. I had planned on staying in and calling you, but he...I don’t even know what he said. Before I knew it we were here, he had ditched me, and I didn’t know anyone.”

“Good thing I saved you then,” she said with a smile. “C’mon. I know a 24-hour diner up the road where we can get some waffles.” 

They started down the street, and before long they were chatting about a book they had both read and discussing how good they thought the next Follies would be without them.

Before she knew it, he was holding open the door to the diner, and she realized that she had never let go of his hand from earlier. 

“Aren’t you two cute,” the waitress said. “Pick anywhere you want, and I’ll be by with menus.” 

She blushed and dropped his hand. “Sorry about that,” she mumbled.

“Totally fine,” he said easily. “It’s not like you could have kept hold of my hand if I didn’t want you too.”

“You think I couldn’t hold your hand hostage?” she asked, the challenge clear in her voice.

“No, I don’t,” he said, sliding into a booth.

“Challenge accepted,” she said, sliding next to him in the booth and grabbing his hand again. 

“Surely you don’t mean to hold it while you eat,” he scoffed.

“Watch me.”

The waitress returned with some menus and took their drink orders.  She didn’t bother looking at the menu. She already knew what she was going to get, but Spencer diligently worked his way through the menu one handed. 

“So what can I getcha, lovebirds,” the waitress asked.

“Oh we’re-”

“Waffles,” Darcy said with a smile, cutting him off. 

“Same for me.”

The waitress smiled and left. “You’re really committing to this,” he said, flopping their joined hands a bit.

“Oh, I haven’t even begun to commit yet,” she said settling in.

They talked about his research, her classes, their families, and whatever else came to mind as they waited for and then ate their waffles. He refrained from remarking on their hand holding, and Darcy followed suit.

She continued to hold his hand as she paid their bill.

“So where are you staying?”

“Up at the Hilton,” he said, gesturing with his free hand.

“Awesome,” she said turning them down the block. “That’s not far at all.”

“Oh? We’re going back to my place?”

“If you think I’m passing up a chance to sleep in a hotel instead of my dingy apartment, you have another thing coming.”

“And now you’re spending the night?” he asked, amused.

She shook their hands. “I’m in it to win it, Spence. You didn’t think dinner was going to be it, did you?”

He looked down at their hands and back up at her. “Okay,” he said. “I still think I can break you.”

“Have you been trying at all?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Well...no,” he admitted.

“Is it because you like it?” she teased.

“I don’t dislike it,” he said.

“Damning me with faint praise I see,” she said. “That’s fine. I have secret weapons.”

He led her through the lobby and down the hall, fishing in his pocket for his room key.

“Here we are,” he said, opening the door and then flipping on the lights by the bed. “Is it everything you hoped it would be?”

“You’re here, so it is,” she said, pulling him closer to the bed. “But I also need to know how comfy this bed is.” She sat on the bed, Spencer standing in front of her. She bounced on it a few times, checking its firmness before smiling mischievously and flopping backward, pulling him down on top of her.

“Darcy!” he chided. “What are you doing?”

“Checking out this bed, obviously.”

“And you needed me on top of you because…?”

Darcy tried to shrug, but with him on top of her, it didn’t really work. “You could get up,” she offered.

“Is that what you want?” he asked, studying her.

“I’m perfectly comfortable,” she said, trying to even out her breathing. She wasn’t sure what it was about looking up at him, but it made her heart beat a little faster.

“Well, I am too,” he said, but his face was flushed, and he couldn’t look her in the eye.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. 

“What? Nothing’s wrong.”

“Because you’re a little red?”

“That’s preposterous,” he said, but his face just got redder.

“No, there it is,” she said, patting his cheek with her free hand. “Right there. Under my hand.”

“Maybe I’m getting sick?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Is this a scheme to get me to let go of your hand?”

“I would never!” he said with mock outrage. “But also, I really need to pee.”

“Yeah, I’m not afraid of holding your hand through that.”

“Can I….can I somehow barter with you to allow me to do that in peace but also not consider it a break in the hand holding?”

“What do you have to offer?”

He rolled off her so they were laying side by side. “What do you want?”

“That’s not how deals work, Spencer. You’ve got to offer me something. Something good.”

He sighed. “Okay, you let me pee without you, and I will let you sleep in the bed tonight.”

“As opposed to what?” she asked, turning her head toward him. 

“You sleeping on the floor of course.”

She gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

“Wouldn’t I? I told you I hadn’t started to try and break you yet.”

“If you’re even thinking about making me sleep on the floor, there’s no way I’m letting you pee alone,” she said, flipping herself on top of him, and pinning him down. “In fact, I’m not letting you up at all.” She grabbed his other hand and pressed it into the bed above his head to match the other. She smirked down at him.

“I could absolutely throw you off me if I felt like it.”

“Well you haven’t, so either you can’t or don’t want to.”

He smiled before expertly flipping them, surprising her. “You were saying?” he asked.

Her eyes were drawn to his lips, and the realization suddenly hit her. She was attracted to him. She didn’t enjoy this banter because they were friends. She hadn’t held his hand all night for a gag. Her eyes weren’t drawn to his lips simply because he was smiling.

Shit.

This was bad.

She let go of his hands. He looked surprised. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“No,” she said quickly. “I just realized how cruel I was being. Go ahead and go to the bathroom. I’ll be here when you get back.”

He gave her a look, but then slowly got off her and headed to the bathroom. Once the door was firmly shut behind him, she sat up and stared at the closed door. What the fuck was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t just leave. She still wanted to be his friend, and leaving would definitely put a strain on that. How had she not noticed she was falling for him?

Darcy Lewis: Queen of Making a Mess of It.

The bathroom door opened, and she forced herself to not look up. The bed sagged a bit as Spencer sat down beside her and took her hand. She looked over at their joined hands and tried to commit how they looked into her memory for when she inevitably screwed things up.

“Did you wash that hand before grabbing mine?” she asked, trying to get back to the light mood of before.

“Obviously,” he said. “That’s why they’re still a little wet.”

“Oh, I just thought you were nervous.”

“Well, that too,” he agreed.

She pulled her eyes from their hands to his face. “What’s there to be nervous about? Scared I’m going to win?”

“Got it in one,” he said, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes, which concerned her.

“Hey,” she said, pulling him up the bed with her, “you sound tired. Maybe we should get to sleep. I mean, I  _ am _ using you for this room and bed.”

He let her pull him further up the bed before asking, “Are you going to sleep in your jeans?”

She looked down. She had forgotten she had them on. “Spencer Reid, are you trying to get me out of my pants?”

“I just thought you might be more comfortable out of them. I know I will be.”

“You’ll be more comfortable once I’m out of my pants?”

“No,” he said blushing, “once I’m out of mine.”

“Oh!” she said, blushing herself. She hadn’t thought about that. “Umm, truce to get bed ready?” she asked, shaking their joined hands for emphasis.

“Truce,” he agreed, but it was a moment longer before his grip loosened. She quickly shimmied out of her pants, and pulled her bra out from under her shirt, folding it all up and placing it on the chair in the corner. She looked over her shoulder at him just as he pulled his sweater over his head. She smiled at the awkward mess he made of it when his undershirt started to come off as well. She watched until he finally got it off before turning back to look at the wall and prepare herself for what was ahead. She took a calming breath and then turned around.

If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was looking at her legs, which threw her for a moment, but she quickly recovered and jumped onto the bed, landing on her knees. He grinned and jumped to join her. She reached over to flip off the lamp on her bedside table, and he did the same, reaching for her hand as the room went dark.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

“Hey,” she replied. They were both still on their knees, and she tugged on his hand so they both toppled over. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said once they were both actually lying down.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “Remember how we used to try and imagine what we would be like when we were in college?”

“Yeah, she said, moving a bit closer to him. “We used to talk about how we’d still be awesome friends and the coolest people we knew. I think we nailed it.”

“You’re definitely the most awesome person I know,” he said, “though I’m not sure it goes the other way.”

“Hey now,” she chided, “I don’t know who could be more awesome than a genius magician, especially a genius magician who is here with me now and still playing along with my hand holding game.”

“Maybe I’m having fun because it was invented by my best friend who is also an amazing person, and I enjoy spending time with her.”

“She sounds great. I’d love to meet her,” Darcy said.

“She is,” he agreed, scooting close until they were nose to nose. “I should probably tell her more so she knows when I’m talking about her.”

They stayed like that, nose to nose, waiting for the other to do something, for several long seconds. Suddenly Spencer leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek, pulling away quickly.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“It just felt right. I’m sorry.”

“No,” she said immediately, “don’t be sorry. I liked it. I just wasn’t sure why you did it.”

“I’ve been wanting to, for a while now.”

Her heart beat faster. “You’ve been wanting to kiss my cheek? You are always more than welcome to do that, especially if you don’t mind me returning the favor.” She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head, and instead her lips brushed his. She pulled back quickly. “Sorry,” she immediately apologized.

“Why are you sorry?” he asked, his voice catching a bit.

“I’m sure you didn’t want me kissing you….” She trailed off, unsure how best to finish the sentence,

“You’re wrong,” he whispered.

Instead of doing the sensible thing and asking what he meant, she leaned forward once again and this time deliberately pressed her lips to his. Immediately he was kissing her back. She caressed his face while his hand tangled in her hair. There was no way to play this off as innocent or a mistake. She was kissing him and he was kissing her back.

Slowly she ended the kiss and pulled away. “Wow,” she whispered. “I can’t believe we haven’t done that before.”

“We  _ are _ pretty good at it,” he agreed. “It would be a shame to waste such talent.”

“We should do that again,” she said, leaning back in.

This kiss was slower as they both enjoyed the newness of kissing each other, and this time he was the one to end it. When he pulled away, she whimpered a tiny bit.

“I think we should absolutely do more of that,” he said immediately, “but there was just one thing I wanted to tell you first?”

“Yes?” she asked.

“I win,” he said, wiggling his fingers that were raking through her hair. “I told you I hadn’t even started to try yet.”

“I guess you did,” she replied, wondering if kissing her had been a joke to him. “Of course, maybe my goal was always kissing and not hand holding,” she added, trying to figure out where he stood.

“If it was, you could have told me sooner,” he said. “I spent most of the night trying to figure out if you would let me.”

“Did you now?” she asked, feeling better about it. “You could have just asked.”

He moved close again, his lips just a breath away from hers. “Darcy, can I kiss you some more?”

“Please,” she said, melting into him again. 

Maybe she wasn’t the Queen of Making a Mess of It. Maybe she was the Queen of Kissing Her Best Friend. She rather liked the change in title.


End file.
